Radio Control: Combat
Greg Rose, 3429 Elmy, Orion, MI 48359
Looking back on the summer flying season (tipped all you southern fliers off with that statement, didn't I?) this was a great year for the RC Combat flier. More people joined in 704 fun than in previous years, and both interest and safety awareness increased in nonscale events. Manufacturers who support this facet of modeling responded. All this activity is great, with new developments occurring all the time.
Jets and new developments
One of these new developments is the introduction of jets to 704. Since 704 rules allow "combat aircraft produced or in service between 1935 and 1955," several jet designs can be considered. Although several modelers had WWII German jet or rocket-powered designs under construction, it was a Korean War–vintage design, the MiG-15, that seems to have flown first.
Since RC combat requires a propeller to cut the opponent's streamer, the MiG does not have a ducted fan. The propeller is mounted just in front of the jet intake and is not obvious in flight. Putting the MiG into the air required the teamwork of Gus Morfis, who did the design work, and Mark Pantos, who did the construction and flight testing. Soon after the MiG-15 flew, this team started work on an F-86. Both designs are scheduled to be featured in construction articles next year.
New kits and plans
- Classic Air Models — P.O. Box 784, Fruitland Park, FL 34731; Tel. (904) 787-7475 — added their fourth 704 kit: the Bell P-39 Airacobra. Like Classic's other kits, the Airacobra has all-balsa construction and a vacuum-formed canopy.
- CRX Scale — 4709 Green Meadows Ave., Torrance, CA 90505; Tel. (310) 378-5679 — has released two more 1/2-scale plans. The Ryan Fireball and the Hawker Sea Fury are their latest offerings.
- Progressive Miniature Aviation — 214 North Goldenrod Rd., Orlando, FL 32807; Tel. (407) 382-8646 — has found that quite a few sport fliers are interested in their line of 704 kits. To accommodate these sport fliers, Progressive has improved their kits by offering optional landing gear for all their designs.
Meets and reports
Thanks for the photos I've been getting; here are some from a couple of meets.
Madison Area Radio Control Society (MARCS) held its second 704 meet this year and had fun despite gusty crosswinds. Keith Higgins, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, won with his O.S. .15 FP-powered Progressive Miniature Aviation P-51 Mustang. MARCS also held a mini-Reno race after the meet. Tom Lazar reports his F2G Corsair turned a respectable 140 on the Quickie course. Tom built the F2G by modifying Zigg's F4U Corsair kit. Tom cut down the turtledeck, added a bubble canopy and reworked the tail feathers to give his Goodyear-built Corsair a special look.
Yet another scratch-built Bell P-39 Airacobra came from Bob Buster, Glendale, Arizona. Bob has used his own design and built two Airacobras. Because the original is a mid-engine design, the Airacobra has an exceptionally long nose. Bob's first was a tad nose-heavy; the second Airacobra is powered by an Enya .15 and the balance problems were resolved.
Duane Holliger, Carlock, Illinois, also has a scratch-built Airacobra. Duane used a set of control-line plans to build the outline and used his experience from other 704 models to build inside-sheeted foam-core wings. His O.S. .15-powered model still weighs about 3 lb 0 oz (ready to fly).
Nonscale combat
In nonscale events, Roger Williams of J.R. Hobbies — R.R. #1, Box 249A, Springfield, Ill. 62707; Tel. (217) 523-0044 — dropped me a note regarding some of the nonscale Combat events run in Illinois using their Knight Wing and Boomerang kits. Powered by .20- to .30-sized engines, each weighs about 2.5 to 3 pounds and features foam-core wings.
According to Roger, the scoring system varies slightly from club to club, but a uniform set of safety rules is used. I was impressed by the U.S. flag covering scheme, with all 50 stars, on Roger's Knight Wing.
Sandy Frank of Weatherford, Texas wrote to tell me of the RC Combat in his local area. It seems that the Wichita Falls, Ft. Worth, and Weatherford RC clubs "all use different rules" and you need different types of models for each city's meets!
Sandy prefers his modified "U/C FAI Combat Wing" for the Weatherford meets. Powered by a .32 and with three servos, it weighs less than two pounds, and turns "on a dime, with change back." How about sending in a photo of your model for the next column, Sandy!
Well, after a quick "Hi!" and thanks for the letter to Josh Simmons of Crescent City, California, that's all for now. Hope you all have a happy holiday season, and until next time: Remember to check your 6!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
